Neck strain
Posted , 6 users are following.
Hello ladies,
I haven't posted in a while. Hope all is well with you all.
Have any of you experienced what feels like a migraine but instead of the head pain and pressure that is typically associated with it I have neck pain with stiffness? It feels sort of like when you sleep crooked and get a crick in your neck. I haven't had a period since February. I also have nausea and a nervous feeling in my legs. My anxiety of course is playing a role in some of this I'm sure. Does anyone else get this?
1 like, 17 replies
Gypsy014 sharcerv52408
Edited
Hi yes I definitely get this! drives my health anxiety thru the roof.. seems to be happening for me the last 3 to 4 months.. I call it my migraine in my neck its always the left side and the pain is deep in there.. but whenever I get this neck pain.. it lasts 3 to 4 days then the migraine comes.. so its the calm before the storm so to speak! I had the neck pain few days last week and yesterday was my painful all day long migraine! do you get the migraine after your neck pain? I have read. . migraines do behave in that kind of pattern.. neck pain before the actual migraine attack! I m so dine with all this.. all if it is the hardest thing in life to have to go thru. can be pure torture these symptoms..
sharcerv52408 Gypsy014
Posted
It varies, sometimes I get eye pain the day before and the next day the migraine comes. Sometimes it's the neck pain before the migraine or sometimes it can be that heavy feeling of pressure at the base of my head or the top of my head. It's not always consistent when I'm having an episode. I also get the nausea and dizziness with it along with blurry vision. Do you get these with it too? What have you tried in order to relieve your neck pain issue?
Gypsy014 sharcerv52408
Posted
yes all classic signs the migraine is on the way.. I get dizzy extra blurry vision..the eye pain yes all of it..really nothing helps or soothes it.. it just escalates until the actual migraine attack..feels like the flu so nauseated like throwing up and sometimes you do and the head pain gets worse..it has to run its ugly little course unfortunately..every month 2x a month.. does anything help your pain?
sharcerv52408 Gypsy014
Posted
Yes I get all of that too and it does feel flu-like which raises so many concerns because of our current health crisis going on. Nothing really seems to help me either. It's just like you said that it has to run it's course. It was like that for me with my periods when I used to get them. No matter what I took to try and alleviate the pain, it didn't help. I just had to suffer it out. I will be glad when all this is behind us all. Take care!
xx
sharcerv52408
Posted
Hi Gypsy,
I also meant to ask, with your migraines do you sometimes experience pain or pressure in your head or neck when going from a sitting position to a standing position?
Gypsy014 sharcerv52408
Edited
if i move around the pain can definitely worsen for me.. i do try and keep still during my migraine attacks..(bed for me) but the actual pain leading up to my attacks are approximately 3 days long on both sides of head never at the same time ..pain is either on one side or the other..so I am moving around during those 3 days ..and it does get more painful to move about..
sharcerv52408 Gypsy014
Posted
That makes sense if I'm going from sitting to standing, that does qualify as moving. Lol! Thankfully, things are starting to subside somewhat today. I'm not in nearly as much pain as I was for the past week. I started having these symptoms on this past Tuesday. I think what triggers it for me is the type of pillow that I sleep on. It doesn't support my head, neck and shoulders which is where all of the misery I have been feeling has been occurring. So I ordered a cervical pillow online to see if that eliminates the problem. I notice that most of the pain occurs when I'm first getting up. The pain is usually at the base of my head and moves down to my neck and then shoulders. I'm a side sleeper but then I end up on my back which makes sense as to why the base of my head hurts and then my neck and shoulders. I hope this pillow makes a difference.
Gypsy014 sharcerv52408
Posted
yes going up or down qualifies as movement haha.. oh I hope the new pillow helps you! I do know these migraines can be hard hard hard to get thru.. a week long painful migraine in head neck and shoulders is about the duration unfortunately.. I sleep very carefully on my pillows they have to be stacked just right and I m on my side.. let me know this time next month if the pillow made any difference in your symptoms!
sharcerv52408 Gypsy014
Posted
Yes, I'll keep you posted.
cat38281 sharcerv52408
Edited
So sorry you're dealing with this. It might be cervical disc degeneration (common as one ages) and that can lead to cervical headaches too. Have you tried neck stretches? Hang in there X
sharcerv52408 cat38281
Posted
Thank you. No, it's definitely migraine related my doctor confirmed that it's associated with my declining hormones. I haven't seen my period since February which is the longest stretch for me so far. So I don't know if I'm done or not. Another six months without a period and I will be finished.
Bella1973 sharcerv52408
Edited
Hi Sharcev,
This rings a bell with me. I am 47, have been diagnosed with peri through bloodtests and suffer exactly the same neck/should issues as yourself.
My experience all started when i had racing heart, palpitations December last year. I though i was having a heart attack and called ambulance. Had chest xrays, full bloods - everything fine and was sent home,
Doctors has prescribed HRT patches but i have not started yet as i would rather try and see if i can find a remedy without
I went 5 months without a period and have have now had 3.
Apart from all the other symptoms i am dealing with, skin issues, dry mouth, trouble swallowing at times, insomnia, the neck /shoulder issues are doing my head in. Like you i also get the nausea and shaky feeling.
I had an episode last night and thought i was going to have another episode. Got the blood pressure machine out and although slightly raised, it was the pulse meter that was off the charts.
Now that i have been thinking about it , this was very similar to my last episode and the neck//shoulder pain was chronic leading up to my episode last night. The ringing in ears is also off the scale
I had full bloods 3 months in and all were clear so i have to just keep reminding myself it is just the hormones and try and ride through the episodes until i calm down. Its really hard not knowing when these episodes are coming and what triggers the neck/shoulder issues. I have tried all sorts of things to help with the pain, heat pads, ice packs, deep heat cream.
I am not sure if i have hot flushes but i do have like a warm weird sensation start in my stomach which spreads. I dont get all sweaty but always feel a bit odd afterwards. Could possibly be an adrenaline rush.
So i just wanted to know that you are not alone and it all seems to be hormone related.
This site gives me a lot of comfort and stops me from googling and trying to self diagnose which leads to further severe anxiety
I was always healthy and had not been to a doctor in 20 years , now at 47 i have lost count how many times i have been to one
Hopefully reading this forum with help your anxiety, as far as the neck/shoulder issues i am yet to find any relieve and are still trying to work this peri symptom out
Good luck
sharcerv52408 Bella1973
Edited
Thank you Bella, so much for your kind reassurance. As I was sitting here reading your post, tears began to well up in my eyes because I am so grateful to God for this forum and for you and countless others who have ministered to me by calming my fears and reassuring me. I, too am 47 and was always healthy; only went to the doctor for my annual check ups but when peri symptoms started I found myself going there all the time. I got to a point where I was able to deal with these symptoms and had stopped running to the doctor/ER. But now since it seems like my periods have stopped, at least for now, the symptoms have all gotten worse. The ones I used to be able to just shrug off are packing quite a punch these days sending my anxiety through the roof. I tried to go to urgent care today for the pain but the line was out the door in the street. So my husband took me to CVS to get some ibrupofin. But like you said nothing seems to relieve the pain. I never used to be afraid to go to the doctor but now since peri hit I dread going and my bp is always up when I go. This is the worst thing in the world to be going through. I had to withdraw my daughter from a really good school and put her in one closer to my house because the commute was too overwhelming for me. Now I'm worried that this school won't be what she needs. I get so depressed sometimes and that was never me before either. I will be glad for the day when all of this just goes away. But thank you once again for reaching out to me.
sharcerv52408 Bella1973
Posted
I meant to ask, with your migraines do you also sometimes get pain and or pressure in your head/neck when you change from a sitting to a standing position?
Bella1973 sharcerv52408
Edited
I actually haven't noticed whether it actually changes, but i will monitor this and keep you posted. I didn't even realise they were migraines until reading this forum. I just thought i had issues with my neck/shoulder or worst case scenario when my anxiety is at its worst my thought process leads me to thinking i have a brain tumor ..... eye roll (the joys of perimenopause.
After my episode last night i have had a very relaxing day trying not to exert myself to much. I have started a health journal now to write down my symptoms/pains to see if i can see some sort of pattern forming.
Its so nice to know we are not alone, its just a shame they cant come up with a magic pill to make all of this misery go away.
sharcerv52408 Bella1973
Posted
I hope they will soon. They can come up with everything else.